Hamas and Israel have confirmed that six more hostages will be released on Saturday, as well as the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday.
According to Israeli officials, four more dead hostages are expected to be released next week under the cease-fire agreement.
Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have identified the hostages who will be released on Saturday as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39.
Hamas accused Israel of procrastinating and avoiding second-phase negotiations, and stated that it is prepared to negotiate to implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement’s second phase.
Negotiations on the second phase of the agreement have not yet begun, but mediators are urging that talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before the second phase is scheduled to begin, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry.
According to a spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip is a crime, and the country has called for full aid entry into Gaza, with a large amount of aid still at the border waiting to enter.
Last week, Hamas threatened not to release hostages over the weekend, claiming Israel was not upholding its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, allegedly targeting them with gunfire and slowing aid, and that the hostage-prisoner exchange would be postponed.
Hamas later stated that the exchange would take place as planned and released three hostages on Saturday. Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov, all citizens of the United States, were among the three hostages released.
In exchange for Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages, Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, the majority of whom were detained in the Gaza Strip following the terror attack on October 7, 2023.
Last week, President Donald Trump issued a deadline to Hamas, telling them that if they did not release all remaining hostages by Saturday, Israel would be free to violate the ceasefire and continue fighting.
